Mayweather/Pacquiao: Worth The Wait? Or Worth The Disappointment?

It can be argued many ways, many people would like to argue it, but the fact remains that the ‘Money Prince’ walked away from the ’bout still undefeated. Though the fight was seen in favor as Pacquiao taking home the titles and unifying the division the scales was tipped in favor of the undefeated fighter, not only keeping his steak alive, but making some doubters and believers asking “Why?”

Why ask that question of ‘Why’? Well it’s simple…

This fight has been nothing, but suppressed pint up frustration among the fans that “It should’ve happened already.” Yes we can agree with you there, this fight should have already been a “Fight of the Century” caliber match when both fighters were at their peak years ago. But lets look back for a quick second a say that both parties weren’t dodging each other seeing as it took meeting at Miami Heats’ game to come to some recognition that the dubbed “Fight of the Century” should happen now (May 2nd, 2015).

Manny Pacquiao & Floyd Mayweather are without a doubt two of the greatest fighters in the sports of boxing… Hell probably of all sports… Hmmm UFC sanction match? No, but really, these fighters pride themselves as facing the best and beating the best that comes in front of them. Look at Mayweather/De La Hoya and Pacquiao/Hatton to see what these two have built for themselves in terms of greatness in the ring and legends in the sport of boxing.

Now lets get to the steak and potatoes of the fight.

On December 12, 2014, Mayweather proposed a May 2, 2015 fight with Pacquiao, citing his indirect frustration at not being able to make the fight happen in the past by stating that Pacquiao had lost to both Marquez and Bradley, and that he (Pacquiao) was “not on his level”. He then went on to close his comments with, “Let’s make this fight happen for the people and for the fans. Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. May 2nd”.

On January 13, 2015, Pacquiao agreed to terms for the fight. Bob Arum claimed that now only Mayweather’s camp was holding up an official agreement.

On January 27, 2015, Mayweather and Pacquiao finally met each other face to face for the first time during an NBA game between the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks in Miami. Pacquiao said they exchanged phone numbers and would communicate with each other.

Pacquiao’s advisor, Michael Koncz, said that the two future Hall of Famers later met at Pacquiao’s hotel for about an hour to discuss the pending superfight and work out the remaining issues. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expressed optimism that the fight could be finalized by Super Bowl Sunday at the soonest and that there would be no further deadlines for the fight, stating that the negotiations are nearly complete.

On January 30, 2015, TMZ reported that the fight had been agreed upon by both sides and that a formal announcement would be made in the “next couple of days.” However, members from both sides, including Bob Arum and Stephen Espinoza, refuted the report, saying that the deal had not been finalized yet and that negotiations on what would be a joint pay-per-view (Showtime-HBO) telecast of the fight were still clearing out the last significant issues before the deal could be finalized.

On February 20, 2015, Mayweather announced that the fight was official and had finally been signed to take place on May 2, 2015. Mayweather and Pacquiao will face off at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight is expected to shatter PPV buy records and gross millions of dollars with the ticket prices ranging from $3,500 to $250,000 and the PPV is expected to cost US$89.95 for SD and US$99.95 for HD. Boxing experts say this match could be the richest fight in boxing history and could generate $300 million

Last night we saw these two fighters go in there a test the waters, but test them very unusually. First off, Mayweather was playing defense for majority of the fight catching Pacquiao with some devastating right hooks, but Pacquiao was playing offense to the extent that wasn’t connecting too much which hurt in the 12 round fight.

Floyd Mayweather in the end result gained the unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao in Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand arena in Las Vegas, 118-110, 116-112, 116-112, to remain undefeated.

But the way Pacquiao saw it, the three judges got the winner wrong.

“I thought I won the fight; he didn’t do anything,” he said. “I got him many times with a lot of punches.”

The ringside punch stats, though, told a different story. Those numbers had him landing 19 percent of his punches. Meanwhile, Mayweather, who threw six more total punches, connected on about 34 percent of his attempts.

That was largely because Pacquiao didn’t throw his right hand often. Promoter Bob Arum said Pacquiao injured his shoulder sometime after March 11.

Arum said Pacquiao’s camp thought he would be allowed an anti-inflammatory shot because he had gotten them during training and they had been approved by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. But he said paperwork filed with the commission didn’t check the injury box, and the five Nevada commissioners decided in Pacquiao’s dressing room that he would not be allowed to take it.

“The ruling made tonight affected the outcome of the fight,” Arum said.

Still, Pacquiao thought he had won the bout, largely on the basis of a few left hands that seemed to shake Mayweather.

“I thought I won the fight. He didn’t do nothing except move outside,” Pacquiao said. “I got him many times; I saw the punches.”

Sounds like unfinished business, no?

What’s your thoughts about the fight? Do you think it should been different? Was it the “Fight of the Century” that you hoped for? Will there be a Pacquiao/Mayweather 2? Unleash your thoughts in the comment section below.